THE LAST COLUMNIST

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Thank You Ann Arbor

To the people of Washtenaw County and all my neighbors in Ann Arbor who bought The Ann Arbor News since 1836, you have my undying gratitude. Without your support I wouldn't have this job that has allowed me to live the life I am accustomed to living. Yes, the owners are closing The Ann Arbor News and I won't be working there anymore. I have nothing bad to say once I came to terms with the fact that it is their 'floor' (Runaway Train). My loyalty is to the company that gave me a job when I first walked in with three dollars in my pocket; I was ready to move on, in lieu of flowers I am sending a donation to The Peace Neighborhood Center on N. Maple Rd.
The annarbor.com newspaper and other newspapers will be printed at the old A2 News Printing Facility, give it a chance. Many of the people that will be working at the production facility will be ex-Ann Arbor News employees that are trying to work to live just like the rest of us. I worked with them for 19 years, consider them all to be my friends and I wish success for them.
Elsewhere, I'm trying to turn into a part-time college student working towards a degree in Journalism almost 25 years after I was supposed to start. Maybe I will find some work along the way in my field. To those that hope I fail, I say at least I tried and never sat down and cried. I hope all of you have the same type of family that I have for help if you need it.
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Closed July 2009: The Last Dinosaur the Comet Missed

BY: a.k.a. The Last Columnist

    A part of history died today in my opinion Ladies and Gentlemen. I write this article for my August update before watching the last edition of The Ann Arbor News; printed on July 23rd, 2009, go down a conveyor belt into ancient history. It was indeed The Last Dinosaur the Comet Missed. This newspaper was born from a society of Abolitionists in 1836, gathering at the current site of The Ann Arbor News building, still listed as a State of Michigan Historical Site. I am sure some of the early printings during the 1840's made their way by wagon to Illinois for Abraham Lincoln to end up reading.

    I spent my last years in the production facility at The Ann Arbor News; I never worked as a writer. I'm trying college to combine a major in Journalism with my Internet skills so I can write properly for the Civilized World. Journalism isn't dead; it is more alive than ever on the Internet. Newspapers aren't dead either, they just have to catch up with the future and keep their benchmark audience interested instead of alienating them. Newspapers can sell just as much as websites receive hits if they would print controversial articles and columns instead of whitewashing everything with predictable Right or Left Wing Congressional voting propaganda. Give the people something to think about, and then they will talk about it with their family and friends. That is what I am trying to do with The Last Columnist. I hope you like my production.



Environmental Impact:
Newspapers vs. Computers

    There are people that say eliminating newspaper production will save the remaining Forests of the world and reduce what is sent to landfills. What is the true environmental cost of replacing newspapers with computers? Has anyone studied the disastrous impact computers have on groundwater contamination through the manufacturing process alone? The hazardous materials used to produce computers and stored inside the components that are sent to landfills and make their way into the water supply far surpass the impact newspaper production has on the environment in my opinion.

    The Abitibi Model Forests of Canada are the best example for the future of forest management. Please visit their base website at www.modelforest.net. I am not for the destruction of Old Growth Forests in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Leave those natural wonders alone. Managed 'tree farms' such as the Abitibi Model Forests are the answer to the loss of natural forests plundered for quick and easy money. I say re-route part of the wasted Mississippi into the Southwest for irrigation purposes and start planting the Texas, New Mexican and Arizona Model Forests for our descendants.

©2009 by: The Last Columnist

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